It is often necessary to splice the ends of optical fibers from one fiber optic cable to corresponding ends of optical fibers from another fiber optic cable. This is accomplished by "breaking out" a portion of each of the fiber optic cables, whereby the end portions of the optical fibers therein are exposed by stripping the protective jacket from the end of the fiber optic cable. The corresponding optical fibers are then spliced together using various techniques, such as fusion splicing or mechanical splicing. Generous end portion lengths of each of the spliced fibers adjacent the splice are looped and held on the splice tray, and the splice tray affixed within the cable management cabinet housing many such trays for splicing of many optical fibers of cables of a large fiber optic system, such as a telecommunication system.
One such cable management cabinet is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/049,055 filed Apr. 16, 1993 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. Cables enter through entrance holes through the cabinet floor in jacketed bundles, with the bundle jacket removed and individual cables secured to tie down bars proximate the entrance and routed to and upwardly along one or the other side of a central splice tray array, and individual fibers are carefully routed about arcuate bend radius limiters to particular trays to be spliced to associated fibers of other cables, with the bend radius limiters assuring that the fibers are not stressed to assume too sharp a curve that may damage or destroy the fibers nor degrade the signal being transmitted therealong.
Recently an innovative system has been devised for installing fiber optic cables in a building and also between buildings, involving the preliminary placing and securing of somewhat flexible cable-holding routing tubes along the route of the cables from a first location to a second location. Several fiber optic cables are then placed within such an installed routing tube by firmly affixing to the ends of the cables a tow member having an outer diameter incrementally smaller than the inside diameter of the routing tube and adapted to be projected through the tube by a burst of air at sufficient pressure (i.e., "blown"), towing the cables through the routing tube to and beyond the far end, whereafter the tow member is removed and the individual fibers are broken out of the cables to be spliced. Such routing tubes must be carefully secured along their paths in a manner that does not reduce the inside diameter of the tubes below a critical threshold, and the tubes must be so affixed at curve or turn locations to define a curve having a radius greater than a desired minimum to permit passage of the bullet member without snagging.
It is desired to provide a cable management cabinet or pedestal adapted for receipt thereinto of many "blown" fiber cables for splicing of the optical fibers thereof.
It is further desired to provide a manner of affixing the routing tube of "blown" fiber cables in an appropriate manner to permit installation of the cables thereafter.